1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of appliances and, more particularly, to an arrangement for identifying an appliance model through a user interface by employing a scan matrix system.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In order to provide a product line which will appeal to a wide spectrum of consumers, product manufacturers will generally produce various product models. In the field of appliances, model differentiation is often concerned with adding or subtracting certain features, such as display aspects, available cycles and potential options. Depending on the available features, the controls for different appliance models will be varied. That is, each appliance will have a user interface which is designed based, at least in part, on the specific features incorporated into a given appliance model.
Based on the different cycles, options and other features between certain models, the electronic controllers employed in the appliances need to perform different functions. To this end, there must be either a distinct controller for each user interface employed or a way must be provided to signify to the controller what particular user interface and, correspondingly, what model features exist, in order to enable the appliance to operate properly. Obviously, providing distinct controllers can increase overall manufacturing costs significantly. For at least this reason, it would be preferential to provide a generally universal controller including a control board which can be signaled to identify the specific model in which the controller is used and the particular user interface connected thereto.
With this desired result in mind, it is considered possible to employ a latter programming step for each controller prior to installing the controller in a given appliance unit. That is, the controller can be preprogrammed so as to be usable in a wide range of appliance models. However, after it is known which model a given controller will be used, a final programming step is undertaken to correlate the controller with the specified model. In another alternative, a final programming operation can be performed after the controller is completely installed in the appliance. In any case, it is considered desirable to provide a system which will enable a universal appliance controller to be matched with a given appliance model in a cost efficient and overall effective manner.